We learned early in life that all living things need water to survive. As a matter of fact, a person can only live for about 3 – 4 days without water, while surviving up to a month without food! In honor of World Water day, March 22, 2014, I thought I would take a moment to remind us all why good old H2O is so important to the human body.

I find myself constantly advising friends and family members to drink more filtered water. When we neglect to do so, we can experience unpleasant symptoms such as dizziness, headache, irritability, tiredness, constipation and a general sense of discomfort. It is amazing how our bodies respond when we take in the proper amount of water. The Institute of Medicine suggests 9 – 12 cups of total beverages each day. This can literally make you feel like a new person! In addition to relieving the above referenced disagreeable side effects of not drinking enough, water also helps the body with the following functions:

Regulates body temperature

Aids in digestion by ridding the body of waste

Lubricates and acts as a cushion for joints, spinal cord and other sensitive tissues

These are just a few medical reasons why our body demands drinking water. There are other benefits as well, such as promoting weight loss, improves complexion, increases energy and can flush out harmful toxins to boost your immune system!

In an effort to make sure that you are consuming the highest quality water available, consider using a water testing kit to determine if contaminates are present in your tap water. If they are, don’t work. FiltersFast.com offers a wide variety of water filtration applications from refrigerator filters to filtered pitchers and reusable bottles, as well as whole house filtration systems and faucet mount products.

So do the environment a favor: don’t drink bottled water. By now we all know that trash from empty water bottles is filling up the landfills and producing tons of litter each year, not to mention the rising cost and simple inconvenience of lugging around heavy cases of water.

This year on World Water Day, take a moment to reflect on how something as pure and simple as can have such a dynamic impact on not only our bodies and lives, but that of the entire world. Clean water is a luxury and should not be taken for granted, as many people do not have the resources or capacity to produce it. If you do, count it a blessing and think about how you might get involved to help those who don’t. To learn more, please visit http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday.

August is National Water Quality Month, a month where many will take a look at the quality of water they are drinking. Water is an essential part of life, but poor quality drinking water can be the source of many health-related issues, such as tuberculosis, salmonella and diarrhea. Fortunately, there are ways we can know the quality of our water.

One of the common ways to determine your water quality is the use of water test kits. The Complete Home Water Quality Test Kit, priced at under $40, is the best to use. This will test your water for over 13 contaminants including bacteria and copper. This kit includes two test strips for each contaminant and one test strip for bacteria.

Once you have tested your water for contaminants, how do you purify it? This is a task that may seem daunting, but the process doesn’t have to be.

One way to purify your water is through the use of UV lights. Disinfecting your drinking water with Ultraviolet lights is environmentally safe and proven to provide sterile drinking water. Ultraviolet filters use high frequency light to irradiate water through a glass element. Once the water is exposed to the light, all living organisms, such as bacteria, are destroyed. The Inline Ultraviolet Sterilization Filter connects directly onto your 1/4″ water line to provide sterile drinking water by killing 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. This UV filter has a flow rate of 1 gallon per minute.

The 3M Aqua-Pure Water Filter Replacement is one of the best whole house water filter cartridges available. This filter features high flow rates up to 20 gallons per minute and reduces the unpleasant taste and odor of chlorine as well as sediment and other impurities.

The Whirlpool 4396710 is the new and improved filter for Whirlpool side-by-side refrigerators. This Whirlpool Refrigerator Water Filter reduces unpleasant taste, odor, scale buildup and more in your water and ice. You should replace this filter every six months or if your water has a foul odor and taste. For a complete list of refrigerator water filters, go to Filtersfast.com and type in “refrigerator water filters” in the search box.

This August, let’s take the necessary steps to ensure better quality of water in our homes.